Grantee Research Project Results

Mushroom-Based Adsorptive Filtration Membranes for Selective Water Purification

EPA Grant Number: SU841128
Title: Mushroom-Based Adsorptive Filtration Membranes for Selective Water Purification
Investigators: Webster, H. Francis , Burkhardt, Cindy A
Institution: Radford University
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Phase: I
Project Period: March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2027
Project Amount: $74,819
RFA: 21st Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet Phase I (2024) RFA Text
Research Category: P3 Awards , Drinking Water , Clean Water , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , Water Quality , Human Health , Water , PFAS Treatment , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Environment , Water Treatment , PFAS Detection

Description:

Maintaining water quality and securing access to reliable, clean drinking water is a critical global issue as the world experiences rapid industrialization and
population growth. Domestically, recent high-profile water contamination problems include lead contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan and nation-wide water contamination by “forever chemicals” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The pressing need for potable water has ignited numerous research initiatives focused on the development of new water purification methods that provide clean drinking water and recycle wastewater. Our project contributes to this effort through the development of a cost-effective, multifunctional adsorptive filtration membrane derived from waste mushrooms. Facile low-energy preparation techniques will be used to develop mushroom-derived chitin/polyglucan nanofibril filtration membranes that will be engineered to exhibit a combination of size exclusion and adsorption properties. They will also be tailored for the efficient removal of various contaminants of emerging concern including arsenic, lead, and organic pollutants including PFAS. Incorporation of recently developed multifunctional glycerol-based carbon nanoparticles will enhance membrane adsorption performance. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a low cost and sustainable alternative to petroleum-based filtration membranes commonly used today. In addition, since over 85% of all plastic waste ends up in the landfill, the replacement of polymers with a waste-derived bio-based alternative also supports the effort to reduce waste and environmental contamination.

Objective:

We envision the development of a novel filtration membrane that can, by design, remove a wide range of common water pollutants including heavy metals,
organics, and arsenic. Our approach is: (1) to synthesize a chemically heterogeneous, but reproducible, adsorptive filtration membrane made from nanofibrils derived from several varieties of mushrooms and mushroom waste. This has the potential to provide a high performing, sustainable alternative to polymer-based filtration membranes. (2) to use glycerol-based carbon nanoparticles (and carbon/iron-based composites) previously developed in our lab to modify the membrane chemistry to target specific pollutants including heavy metals, organics, and arsenic, which has never been demonstrated before.The interdisciplinary nature of this project will impact the students as they collaborate and find unique ways to combine the differing scientific strengths inherent to the disciplines of biology, chemistry, and geology. Student researchers will also progress from solving bench-type problems to tackling the more complex engineering problems needed to make a real-world water filtration system, while incorporating the principles of green chemistry and sustainable design.

Expected Results:

The overall expected result of this project is to develop highly functional adsorptive filtration membranes derived from mushroom-based starting materials. The expected outputs of our project are to: (1) produce functional filtration membranes derived from several mushroom varieties (Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane), Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster), and Trametes versicolor (non-edible Turkey Tail)) that are successful in removing defined water contaminants including lead, arsenic, methylene blue, and two pollutants of emerging concern (trimethoprim and PFOA), (2) provide physical and chemical characterization of the filtration membranes to document performance based on mushroom species and method of preparation, (3) validate the materials as potential filtration membranes under defined low-pressure filtration conditions, and (4) provide a cost-benefit economic assessment of our waste-tovalue approach. The major potential outcomes for society include the development of new technologies to upgrade existing wastewater treatment options for existing and emerging pollutants, the development of high performance materials from agricultural waste streams, the reduction in plastic waste as biodegradable materials replace nonrenewable polymers, and the dissemination of our waste-to-value approach which will change the narrative on what we view as “waste” and encourage more sustainable material development.

Supplemental Keywords:

mushrooms, mushroom waste, adsorptive filtration membranes, water purification technologies, water treatment